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Beijing’s five-star, LEED-certified Hotel Éclat is a green as it is swanky

Sustainability and luxury haven’t always gone hand in hand, but Beijing’s new Hotel Éclat is a stellar example of the two worlds colliding in the most wonderful way. As part of the city’s new LEED Platinum certified Parkview Green complex located in the bustling Chaoyang district, the energy-efficient five-star hotel is a landmark of green design for the city that features louvers that funnel out hot air, a grey water system and oodles of natural light.

Although undeniably swanky, the hotel’s sustainable profile is as equally impressive, and has been recognized with Asia Pacific’s first LEED Dynamic Plaque. Various engineering techniques integrated into the building by ARUP have created a sustainable shell around the building. To be as efficient as possible, special ventilation louvers channel hot air out of the building while letting in cooler air flow throughout. This feature, along with multiple energy saving features, allows the building to use 44% less energy than conventional hotels. The hotel has 100 rooms, with 20 themed suites that have their own terrace with swimming pool. Water taken from the pools is filtered through the hotel’s innovative grey water system.

The hotel is housed inside a large glass pyramid that comprises the two-million-square-feet Parkview Green complex, which includes two nine-story and two 18-story towers on the inside. The massive pyramid shape was not only used to create a landmark for the city, but was also used in the project’s green design. The building’s glass exterior and unique shape were chosen to block as little natural light from the adjacent residential area as possible as well as to allow natural light to flood the interior of the complex.

The all-glass facade and thermal insulation creates an individual microclimate for the complex itself, providing protection from the harsh exterior weather as well as reducing the building’s energy consumption. According to its project description, Parkview Green is a “neighhorhood within a neighborhood, a controlled and highly efficient year-round green space to live, work, and play.”